Destiny - Season 1
by Stelena-Beautiful
Summary: Steffy just wants a new start in a familiar place. Hope doesn't know what she really wants, other than to be loved unconditionally. Enter two men who will change their destinies in ways they never could have imagined. A B&B fan fiction series.
1. 1x01

**Destiny**

This is the first "minisode" or mini-episode in my new fan fiction series. It focuses heavily on two pairings: Wyatt/Steffy (yes, you read that right!) and Thomas/Hope (yes, you read that right too). I think Steffy and Wyatt would be brutally sexy and I wanted to try writing them together. But I didn't want Hope to end up alone so I am re-pairing her with Thomas who IMO, she fit the best with. That's the "HoT" pairing I root for haha Liam will probably end up alone, if I have anything to say about it. And why not? He deserves no body after all the pain he's caused these two women. Anyway, without further adieu, I present to you, my newest series, Destiny. Enjoy! Feedback is so much love.

* * *

**Episode 1x01**  


"Oh gee. The oppressive Mexico heat followed us all the way back to Los Angeles," Wyatt said as he stuck his head out the limo door.

Hope poked her head out beside his. "God, you're right. It's positively sweltering."

"Tell me about it," their driver muttered as he held back the door for Wyatt so he could climb out. Their driver was at least two-hundred-fifty pounds and dressed in a thick black suit. The guy had to be utterly miserable and Wyatt immediately felt badly for him.

"You know what? I think Miss Logan and I can take it from here, Walter. Why don't you head on home to your wife and kids? I bet it's been a really long day." Wyatt pulled out his wallet and stabbed a twenty dollar bill in the palm of Walter's beefy hand. "Thanks, man."

Walter's coal-black eyes glittered like the stars in the night sky. "No, thank you, Mr. Fuller. Good night to you both."

Wyatt turned and winked at Hope. "It actually has been a really great night so far." He held out his hand to her and she grasped it tightly. He pulled her up from the back seat and she picked up the box containing their "treasure".

"Come on, Princess," Wyatt said. "Let's get inside before that diamond melts."

Hope smiled widely and she waved to Walter before scurrying with Wyatt towards the safety of the familiar Forrester Creations building.

"How'd you know that Walter has a wife and kids?" Hope asked as they approached the entrance. "You never met him before tonight, when he picked us up at the airport."

"I know everything, my dear," Wyatt said, tapping his forehead. He then began to type in the code for the security panel on the door. He put in three numbers and then stopped, finally turning to look at Hope helplessly.

"Hmm, you were saying …?" She leaned over him and pressed in the last four digits of the code. Her arm accidentally brushed his, mesmerizing him for a moment, as the lock clicked open. "Are you coming inside or not?" she laughed.

"Of course I am. I guess I am just a little slower than usual being that we had 'a bit' to drink on the plane ride back."

"Yeah, I know. So irresponsible, right? We are carrying around a diamond worth about a gazillion dollars and we yet we guzzled down a lot of champagne."

Wyatt held open the door for her and she walked inside. "Well, in our defense, we were celebrating. Scoring this diamond is a major victory."

"Oh I know! I can't believe we actually have it. It's so freaking amazing!" Hope did an impromptu twirl then, nearly sending a pot of orchids flying. Wyatt caught it – and her – though somehow in time, before either of them could hit the ground.

Hope giggled. "Okay, that was impressive…" She disentangled from his embrace after a long moment.

Wyatt smirked at her as he set the pot back on its stand. "You're giggling is going to wake everyone."

"Wait. Who's sleeping here?"

"I don't know."

"Then I can giggle as much as I want. Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Wyatt laughed with her. "Yeah okay go ahead. No one is sleeping here; you're probably right about that."

"I am right … but then why are the lights all off?"

"I don't think we ever actually tried turning them on."

"Wow, you are smart!"

Wyatt grinned. "Will I lose smart points though if I admit I have no idea where we're going right now?"

Hope laughed again. "We're going to Eric's office, silly. The safe is in there and we can stash this beautiful diamond there until the showing. I do hate to part with it though…"

"I still cannot believe we actually got it."

"Wait, wait. You seemed so confidant all along. Like you knew we'd get the diamond, no matter what."

"Then I am even more suave than I realized because inside I was quaking like … a ton. Deep down, I was worried that it might not happen for us."

"Well, I had no idea you were nervous. You were incredibly cool under pressure – despite the blistering heat."

Wyatt laughed. "You know. That sounded almost poetic."

"I know, right?"

They laughed all the way down the hall to Eric's office, clutching their stomachs even to try to tide their laughter.

"God, I'm so buzzed!" Hope marveled. "I never do stuff like this. Any of it. I mean, not just the drinking part… The whole global trotting at a moment's notice … That's way more my Mom's style. But, Wyatt, I did have fun. I had so much fun actually."

Wyatt stared at Hope. She returned his gaze, their eyes locking for an intense moment. Then they both turned away, blushes staining their cheeks, before reaching for the door knob at the same time. Their hands met and Wyatt was sure that Hope was going to pull away but she didn't. She didn't even so much as try as their eyes locked and held once again.

"Hope," Wyatt murmured as he brought his free hand up to graze her cheek. Her beautiful eyes went wide and he heard her stop breathing for a moment. Wyatt started to lean into her and she reciprocated, about to meet him halfway.

"Wyatt…" She murmured.

One moment, her eyes were heavy-lidded and dusky and then they were widening. "Wyatt! Wait. Ohmigod. Did you hear that?"

Wyatt sighed. "What? I didn't hear anything."

"I did. I heard footsteps. Someone's in the building with us." She looked like a dear in the headlights then and Wyatt realized that she was afraid. Afraid to be caught with him. He sighed again and dropped his hand from her face, missing the feeling of her soft skin acutely, instantly.

"Is anyone here?" A voice suddenly called out.

Hope looked at Wyatt, panicked. "Okay, I heard that," he admitted.

"I said, is anyone here?" The disembodied voice called out again.

"Who the hell is that?"

Hope shook her head. "No. It can't be…"

Wyatt noticed the way Hope's whole body seemed to bristle with tension. "What's wrong, Hope?"

"It sounded like … Steffy."

"Steffy? Steffy, as in Liam's-"

"Ex-wife. Yes! That Steffy!" Hope immediately put as much distance as she could between herself and Wyatt. He just shook his head.

The person rounded the corner then, approaching them. Wyatt immediately recognized her from all of her pictures.

"Steffy," Hope said. One word. Yet so much communicated.

"Hope… What a … surprise."

Hope glared at Steffy. "Steffy, you're supposed to be on another continent right now. What the hell –" her voice shook – "what the hell are you doing here?"

Steffy looked between Hope and Wyatt, finally seeming to notice him standing there. She must have also noticed the guilty flushes on his and Hope's faces because she crossed her arms and even smirked a bit.

"You know, Hope, I could ask you the _very_ same thing."

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_**A/N: So? What are your thoughts on minisode numero uno? I know it was Wyatt and Hope-heavy but I can assure you they will NOT be endgame. I am just trying to write as realistically as I can, even for this high camp drama of a soap opera. People don't usually fall in and out of love at the drop of a hat so for the moment, Wyatt remains stuck on Hope and she remains stuck on not knowing completely what she wants. This will be a rollercoaster of a story so hold on tight!**_


	2. 1x02

_**A/N: One of my intentions for this series is to heal/develop the sisterly bond between Steffy and Hope that they both (stupidly) let a boy named Liam smash to pieces. But it's not going to happen right away, sadly. There is too much water under the bridge for that and with Wyatt being Steffy's love interest in this, it cannot realistically happen for awhile. But I do have lots of plans for this series, so keep reading on!**_

**Episode 1x02**

Steffy had not come back to Los Angeles to fight with Hope. On the contrary, she had wanted to believe she was over all of that pettiness but when Hope had immediately lashed out at her demanding to know what the hell she was doing back here, Steffy's old feelings of disdain had immediately come rushing back to the surface.

"What do you mean – what am I doing here?" Hope asked in a decidedly high, shaky voice. "I work here, Steffy. Maybe you don't like that fact but -"

Steffy rolled her eyes. "God, so defensive, Hope. I mean, even more than usual." Steffy smirked at Hope, giving her a look that said: _I know your secret._ She watched Hope's face turn still redder and then Steffy looked at the guy standing there awkwardly between them.

"You must be Wyatt."

The guy nodded, looking at her with more than a touch of suspicion in his admittedly pretty eyes. "That's me," he muttered.

Steffy sensed Hope was dying to know how Steffy knew about her new boy toy, Wyatt Fuller. Far be it for Steffy to keep everyone in suspense. "Liam mentioned that he had a new brother."

"You've been talking to Liam," Hope practically spat. Her voice was full of accusation.

Steffy nodded. "Well, yeah, Hope. Liam and I are friends. As much as you hate that fact, I'm always going to be a part of his life."

"The problem with that, Steffy, is that I know you don't just want friendship. You're his ex and you're always going to try to find a way to squirrel back into Liam's bed!"

Steffy rolled her eyes. "I gave him an annulment, Hope, or did you forget you're getting married because I let him go?"

"Actually, Steffy, we're getting married because that's the way it's supposed to be. Because we belong together and nothing you say or do will change that. It's destiny. So if you came back here to try to make trouble for us, you can just go right back where you came from because it's not going to happen. Liam and I will be married. Very soon too."

"Destiny," Steffy sniffed. "Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"I sleep really great actually, Steffy. Because Liam is right in bed next to me," Hope shot back. Steffy almost admired Hope for coming up with something like that on the fly. She was actually finding her voice and not acting like such a pathetic, wilting flower for once. Of course, it could be the liquor Steffy smelled on her breath that was emboldening her.

"That was a good one, Hope." Steffy feigned clapping her hands together. "What a zinger."

"It's the truth, Steffy. And I know it hurts you –"

"So you admit, you do get off on trying to hurt me?"

"I believe that is your M.O., Steffy, not mine."

Wyatt quickly held up a hand before Steffy could retort. "Okay, girls, just stop, alright? This isn't the time or the place. Just … go to your corners."

Steffy and Hope glared at each other and Steffy nodded. "Fine, I'll go," Steffy said. _"For now._ Hope, hold onto this one. He's a keeper." She then turned and walked back down the hall the way that she had come.

XoXoXo

Wyatt and Hope said nothing as they watched Steffy saunter away. Hope sighed loudly then and she pushed open the door to Eric's office. She fumbled for the light switch and then moved over to the Rembrandt picture on the wall. Her steps were a lot steadier now and Wyatt assumed that she had sobered up a bit during her near-altercation with Steffy.

Wyatt watched as Hope lifted the picture to reveal the wall safe nestled behind it. She slowly put in the security code and opened the safe. She set the box with the diamond inside and then closed the door. She covered the safe with the picture again and finally turned to look at Wyatt. She looked sheepish, to the point of being very embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," Hope said. "I shouldn't have acted that way. Putting you in the position to play referee to another one of Steffy's and my battles… it was wrong."

"Don't worry about it. Steffy seems like she can be –"

"Inciting? Frustrating? Outright bitchy?"

"Yeah, I can see it, I guess."

"I shouldn't have sprung on her the way I did though. Just seeing her now, you know, it was a big shock. Especially when you and I were –"

"Were what?" Wyatt asked, his eyes boring into hers.

"Talking," Hope said and Wyatt's heart sank. "I mean, that's all we did."

"I was going to kiss you. I wanted to kiss you, Hope," Wyatt said. "I want to kiss you so much. And not just that. I mean, I really, really want to be the man in your life."

"I know, Wyatt, I know that. You've made that clear and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't flattered –"

"That's all you are – flattered? I mean, you really feeling nothing for me?"

"Of course I feel something for you. You're an amazing friend to me. You're warm and funny and –"

"That's not what I meant."

"I'm marrying Liam…"

"You don't have to, Hope. If that's not where you heart is anymore…"

"But it is. I love Liam. Liam's everything I've always wanted. I'm not going to lose him. I'm sorry but Liam … He's it for me, Wyatt."

Wyatt nodded. "Okay."

"Wyatt, don't be mad."

"I'm not mad. Just disappointed."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I'll lick my wounds for a bit and then …"

"And then what?"

"I don't know. I don't want to give up on you. I think – no, I know – we'd be amazing together, Hope."

"Liam –"

"I know. Liam. You belong with Liam."

"Right …"

Wyatt sighed and turned away. "Look, uh, we sent the limo driver home with the limo so I'm going to call us two cabs to take us back to our places. I am sure my brother is anxious to see his bride-to-be."

"Wyatt-" Hope started but Wyatt had already walked out of the room.

XoXoXo

Thomas was in the midst of doing his ninety-eighth squat of the night when the doorbell suddenly rang. He paused a moment, wondering who it could be. When the doorbell rang again, this time for a longer interval, he abandoned his nightly exercise ritual and hopped to his feet.

"Coming!" He called as he grabbed a towel off the back of the sofa and looped it around his broad shoulders.

"Hurry up. This pizza is getting cold!" A familiar voice said in reply. His face immediately lit up in a smile and he rang for the door, yanking it open.

"Steffy!"

"In the flesh, big brother," Steffy replied and hugged him enthusiastically, the pizza box in her hand bumping against his spine.

Thomas pulled back and looked at her. Her eyes were alight with that familiar mischief and fire she used to have _pre_-Liam Spencer. Thomas blamed that guy for so much, but hurting his sister was at the top of the list. He was loathe to admit it, but he really disliked Liam. A lot. Seeing his sister smiling right now meant everything to Thomas.

"You look great. Paris agreed with you," Thomas said.

"It was good to get away for awhile."

"For awhile? You mean, you're –"

"Back. Yes."

"For how long?" Thomas asked as he stepped back and gestured her inside.

"Indefinitely." Steffy stepped inside and looked around. "I like what you did with the place, Thomas."

"I haven't changed anything."

"I know. You're this very … well, incredibly _constant _person and it's reassuring."

"So in other words, I am predictable. Boring." Thomas smirked a little.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I just appreciate you being you."

"Okay, I'll that. I guess." He looked at the pizza box. "Do you get anchovies?"

Steffy rolled her eyes. "On the side. I don't know how you can stand those things. You and dad are anchovy-freaks."

Thomas walked into the kitchen and Steffy followed, sliding onto a stool at the island. Thomas looked at her. "So how is Dad anyway?"

"Good. He seems to be coping well without Brooke. Surprise, surprise."

"And Mom? How is she?"

Steffy sighed. "Still hoping Dad will love her again."

Thomas shook his head. "I don't know how she can stand to be –"

"Second place?"

"Well…"

"Second place sucks," Steffy said as she set down the pizza box and lifted out a cheesy, greasy slice. "It really does." Some of the light had gone out of her eyes.

"No woman deserves to be second choice," Thomas said. They trailed off into a potent silence as Thomas watched her nibbling on the edge of her slice of pizza.

"What?!" Steffy asked.

"Nothing."

"Yeah right. That look of yours is starting to give me a serious complex. I know you think I was Liam's second choice –"

"Steffy, I didn't –"

"Wait, okay? You think it and its okay you think that. Because it's true. I was his second choice. His distant second choice."

Thomas didn't know what to say so he rubbed his forehead awkwardly. "It's okay, Thomas. I didn't come back here for Liam if that's what you're worried about. Nor did I come back here to cause problems for Hope, no matter what she may think."

"You saw her already?"

"Yeah I stopped by the office on the off-chance you might be there pulling a late-nighter and she was there with that Wyatt Fuller guy...What's their story anyway?"

"Steffy…"

"Sorry, old habit. But I am telling you the truth. I didn't come here to try to win Liam back."

"Why did you come back?"

"Do I need a reason?" Steffy sniffled.

"Absolutely not." He reached over and hugged his sister again.

"I missed this, Thomas, I missed my brother. And I missed Los Angeles. It's my home. I needed to come home."

Thomas hugged her still tighter. "I am glad you came back. You belong here. This is your home. As for Liam-"

"He's my ancient history."

Thomas nodded. He sincerely hoped that Steffy meant that.

_**End of Episode 2. Feedback is love!**_


	3. 1x03

_**This is a really long episode lol Enjoy.**_

**Episode 1x03**

Thomas glanced over at Steffy sitting beside him in the passenger seat of his new McLaren SLR. Her dark hair whipped about wildly in the wind as they cruised down the hill towards Forrester Creations. She was smiling, her sunglasses resting low on her nose, as she was hummed along to the music pumping from the stereo. Somehow though, Thomas felt that it was all a carefully constructed façade. There was a certain rigidity to her shoulders and she was _tap-tap-tapping_ away at her knees with her French-tipped manicured nails. Someone else might have written this behavior off as back-to-work jitters but Thomas knew his sister better than anyone. She was not in a great place right now.

Thomas reached out and turned off the radio. Steffy lowered her sunglasses and looked at him curiously. "You don't like my jams?" She asked with a haughty smile.

"It's not that. I just thought we should talk."

"What about? Wait. If this has anything to do with Hope or Liam, I seriously don't want to hear it."

"Okay then don't listen to me. Instead tell me what's on _your _mind. Fifty dollars for your thoughts?" he offered with an attempt at a teasing smile. Deep down he was worried about his little sister; worried she would fall back into old patterns and have her heart crushed all over again. Maybe she would run back to Paris again but never return this time. Thomas hated the idea of that happening. Steffy put on a tough act but she was a lot more fragile than anyone would guess.

Steffy shook her head. "Not enough money." She nudged his arm. "I'd rather drive your new car instead. This is a very, very smoking car. You must get a lot of hotties wanting you to take them out for a test drive."

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Hardly."

"You're a catch, Thomas, okay? Any girl would be stupid –"

Thomas held up a hand before shifting into another lane. "I haven't found the right one yet. There, that's all I have to say."

"Wait, you can dissect my non-existent love life but I can't do the same to you? No fair." Steffy mock-pouted until Thomas sighed.

"Alright you can drive this but just –"

"Don't crash it," Steffy said. "Yeah, crashes suck." She nibbled her bottom lip for a moment. It was a new thing because Thomas had never seen her do that. He guessed that she was trying not to cry.

"I didn't mean … I mean…" Thomas broke off for a moment. "I'm sorry about everything that went down," he said sincerely. "If you want to talk about the baby…"

"I don't. Not really. It's just that they would have been here by now and I know my baby would have been perfect. So perfect that even I couldn't mess them up." Steffy broke off for a moment, as if struggling for composure. Then she threw up her hands. "Oh hell. What does it even matter? My baby is gone. They're not coming back. I can't have any more kids and its fine because in the grand scheme of things, I would probably be a sucky mother anyway."

"That's not true and you know it."

"It doesn't matter, Thomas, okay? It wasn't meant to be. I said my peace - now just drive!"

XoXoXo

The rest of the short ride to the office was spent in silence. Steffy felt badly for jumping down Thomas's throat when he was clearly trying to help her but it was all too raw, even months later. She couldn't think about her baby without wanting to come apart and she refused to do that. She was stronger than that. She wasn't going to lie down and let life speed over her anymore. She was done with pity parties. She had to be.

She looked at Thomas as he pulled into the lot of Forrester Creations. She immediately noticed Rick and Caroline swapping spit on the sidewalk in front of the building. "Hey, get a freaking bedroom. No one wants to see that!" Steffy called out. Rick and Caroline broke apart and turned around, staring at her in shock.

"Steffy, what a blood-curling surprise," Rick said. "What are you doing back? If you're here to make more trouble, you can just turn around and go back where you came from."

"Shut up, Rick," Thomas shouted to him as he cut the engine.

"Is that the best you can do, Thomas?" Rick said. He looked at Steffy again. "You really shouldn't have come back here. We're doing better than ever without your so-called contributions. Maybe I can set up an extra desk in the basement for you though - right next to Thomas's." Rick wore a shit-eating grin on his face now and Steffy longed to wipe it off.

But instead she looked at Caroline. Caroline who showed not a drop of shame or embarasment about her boyfriend's behavior. In fact, she was smiling, flashing a whopper of a ring this way and that so they would be sure not to miss it.

"Rick give that to you?" Steffy asked as she opened the door and stepped out.

"Yes, in fact I did," Rick cut in.

"It's big, Rick," Steffy said. "I guess you're overcompensating for you lack of shall we say – size – in other departments?"

Caroline shook her head. Steffy saw Thomas trying to bite down a smile. Rick's face was flaming bright red. "Shut up, Steffy," he said and grabbed Caroline's hand and stomped inside, practically dragging her with him.

"'Shut up, Steffy'," Steffy mocked. "He's criticized you for protecting me but turns around and protects himself the same way. Same old Rick with his short man syndrome and screwed up priorities. Some things never change."

Thomas climbed out too and locked up the SLR. He and Steffy walked together in matching strides towards the building. Steffy paused at the entrance, turning to look at Thomas, tugging him to a stop. "Just so you know, I'm really sorry for biting your head off the way I did."

"Steffy, you don't have to apologize to me."

"No, I want to. You've always been my biggest supporter and I need you in my corner. Besides, you didn't deserve that. You were only trying to help me. So again, I apologize."

"Apology accepted then." Thomas rested his hand on the door knob. "Are you ready for this? If it's too soon –"

"I'm ready, Thomas. I mean, I have to face the music sometime. Besides, I am back now and ready to focus on my career and making a name for the two of us. We also contributed so much here and I won't let that be forgotten. The whole world shouldn't be Hope's oyster."

Thomas frowned. Steffy sighed.

"Okay, sometimes I am going to trip up but I sincerely don't want Hope and me to fight each other forever."

"You mean that?"

"Well, ask me later. Here comes Hope."

Thomas looked up as Hope pushed open the door. She immediately looked past Thomas to Steffy. "Steffy, what the hell are you doing back here? Didn't you cause enough trouble last night?"

Steffy shrugged. "I don't know how I did that. You seemed to be getting into enough trouble by yourself, without my help."

"Steffy," Thomas said with a sigh.

Steffy held up a hand. "Look, Hope, can we just call a truce right now? I am sorry if I was defensive but you went on the attack immediately."

"Steffy, excuse me if I'm a little weary around you. After all you did, I have to be worried that you'll knife me in the back again."

Thomas stepped between the girls. "Hope, Steffy is not going to cause you any problems. Right, Steffy, you promised."

"Why should I believe anything she promises? She's a liar, Thomas. I respect you want to protect your sister. I even admire it but I can't trust her. I am sure you understand why. I am not going to stand here and rehash all the crap she's pulled but we all –"

"Then don't rehash it, Hope," Steffy said. "Just move aside because I'm coming in. This is Forrester Creations and I'm a Forrester so you have no right to try to bar me from here."

Hope sighed. "I wasn't going to. That's not up to me. If it was, you wouldn't be here." She walked back into the office.

Steffy shrugged at her brother. "What an uppity little thing, huh?" 

"She's just worried. She and Liam are about to be married…"

"She doesn't have to worry. I'm not going to bust up their ceremony. Been there, done that. Got the scars to prove it. I don't want to go backwards anyway."

"What if you change your mind, Steffy? What if you let Liam back in and he hurts you again? And he will hurt you because that's what he does best. I feel bad for Hope that she's convinced herself that she needs that guy. I mostly kept quiet about how I felt about him out of respect for you but, Steffy, but I have to be honest now. Liam's not good for you. He's not good for anyone, actually. But you're my sister and I especially don't want him yanking you around by the nose again. Honestly, you deserve so much better than that."

Steffy nodded. "Sure, you're probably right."

"I am."

"I am not going back to Liam, Thomas. I gave him the annulment he wanted, remember? We're done. We are probably always going to be good friends but that's it. I am moving on."

"I am glad to hear it. Just don't forget it. Say 'I deserve better, I deserve better' like five hundred times a day if necessary to remind yourself." 

"Positive affirmations? Okay, Stuart Smalley. Got it. Now can we finally go inside?"

Thomas nodded and smiled. "Sure."

XoXoXo

Eric and Pam were ecstatic to see Steffy and immediately peppered her with questions and enthusiastic hugs. Pam offered Steffy one of her famous lemon bars and Steffy took one out of politeness. She nibbled on it as company employees poked their heads into the room to say "hello" and welcome her back. For a moment, Steffy was feeling good. She noticed the absence of the Logans but she didn't care. The further they stayed away, probably the better for everyone involved.

"Have another lemon bar, Steffy," Pam said.

"Pam, I couldn't possibly –"

Pam set another one on Steffy's napkin "Yes, you can. You need to put a little meat on your bones."

"Yeah and those are bound to fatten you up," Eric said. He rubbed his less-than-taut belly. "I should know. I need to hit the gym again because of them."

Pam nudged Eric, laughing. "You just want to hit the gym to impress Quinn."

"Quinn Fuller?" Steffy asked. "The jewelry designer?"

"Yes, Eric here is sprung on her," Pam said. "Donna's going to be so jealous. I can't wait to tell her!"

"Pam, don't get ahead of yourself. Quinn and I are colleagues. Nothing more. She's-"

"A lot younger than you," Pam chortled.

Eric sighed. "Okay, enough with the ribbing. I believe you have some phones to answer, don't you?"

"Hint taken and heeded," Pam said. She hugged Steffy. "Let's have lunch soon. I can catch you all up on the gossip. You won't believe some of the crazy stuff that's going on around here."

Steffy smirked at her grandfather who just rolled his eyes. Pam laughed as she left the office.

Eric grasped Steffy by the shoulders. "I truly am glad you're home. It certainly hasn't been the same without you around here."

"Thanks, grandfather." Steffy gave him a long hug. "I missed you." She handed him the second, untouched lemon bar. "She never has to know." She mock-zipped her lips and Eric smiled, taking it over to his desk.

Steffy watched him munching contently on the lemon bar. "Grandfather, I am glad to be back. Honestly, I would really like to get to work right away," she said. "I missed the job a lot. My line lapsed while I was gone, I know, but I have a bunch of new ideas for it and-"

Eric held up a sticky hand. "Hold on a minute, Steffy," he said and Steffy's stomach knotted immediately. "You have gone through so much in the past year. You just got back. Don't you think you should get re-acclimated to the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles living before you take on something of such grand proportions?"

Steffy's shoulders stiffened. "Grandfather, you know I can do this. I am getting better every day and I'm ready to jump right back into the work and make my line more successful than ever."

Eric wiped his hands and tossed the used napkin into the trash can. He came back over to Steffy and grasped her by the shoulders again. She sighed as he looked at her sympathetically. "You don't want to give me back my line, do you?"

"It's not that, Steffy," Eric said. "I will. In time. But right now we've put every last red penny into backing Rick and Hope's lines and its starting to pay off in a big way. Once the big fashion show for Hope for the Future happens in a few weeks, then we can talk more about rebooting your line. In the meantime, you can help us pull the show together."

Steffy's stomach clenched and she felt ill. "Grandfather, come on now. Don't make me beg for what's mine. I am a part of this family's legacy too. I don't want my contributions to be completely ignored."

"They're not, Steffy, I promise you that."

"You're not being fair."

"I am doing what's right for the company at the moment."

"Really? What's right for the company or for _yourself?"_

"I don't know what you mean."

"I heard from Liam that this Quinn Fuller person is working here specifically because Hope brought her and her son on board."

"What does she have to do with anything?"

"Probably everything. Pam says you are hot for her and I believe it. You will cut off Thomas and me and even your son Thorne to make room in your life and bed for your new conquest."

"Steffy! You have never talked to me like this before."

"Well I'm sorry but I won't be pushed aside. Not when I need this so much. It's my lifeline and my birthright and I won't let you hurt me like this - not for some skank at least half your age. Quinn Fuller obviously has you right where she wants you and Hope is loving every second of this too!"

"Excuse you!" an angry male voice spat from the doorway.

Steffy turned around to see none other than Wyatt standing there. She felt a brief splash of contriteness – until he launched into a tirade. "Look, I don't know you very well and from all I've heard, I am not sure I want to, but you have no right to trash-talk my mother. You don't know her and I don't appreciate you disparaging her to her employer just because he's your granddaddy and probably didn't give you whatever you demanded."

Steffy shook her head. "No, _excuse you!_ Where do you get off intruding like this? As you pointed out, this is my grandfather and this is his office and you have no right to just stomp in here and start throwing your weight around. You especially cannot judge me just because you happened to misconstrue a conversation you shouldn't have been listening to in the first place." 

"'Misconstrue'? I don't know how you expect me to misconstrue anything you said. You called my mother – the woman who gave me life, mind you – a 'skank' and then said Hope was somehow benefiting from all of this."

"Well, isn't she?" Steffy said evenly. "Anyway, you don't know what you're talking about. You have no right to insult me like this so just turn around and walk out now."

"Steffy," Eric said. "Wyatt is a good person and I know that he wasn't eavesdropping."

"No I was not, Mr. Forrester. I just happened to overhear what Steffy was saying on my way in. I was bringing you some of the designs Hope is working on since she's busy at the moment."

"What's she doing?" Steffy asked.

"It's not your business," Wyatt said.

"Hmm. Already covering for her? You've known her for like two seconds and already you're sporting 'Team Hope' pom-poms."

"Jealousy is not becoming."

"Be quiet. You don't know a damn thing about me."

"You're right and I definitely don't want to. Everyone was right about you."

"Who's everyone? Just because Hope has some nasty things to say, doesn't mean you should believe everything you hear. Hope is hardly an innocent in everything."

"I thought you weren't here to cause problems, Steffy," Hope said, storming into the office. "It seems to me that you were lying about that. You can't keep my name off your lips!"

Steffy was incredibly upset now. Everything was falling apart all over again and all she could see was Hope standing there, hands on hips, with that haughty, holier than thou expression on her face. Everyone always took her side too, which made it all the worse.

Steffy was incensed and couldn't resist snapping back at Hope, "Well, why don't you keep this guy's lips off of your ass?"

Hope flushed bright red and immediately Eric was stepping between the girls as they came stomping towards each other. Steffy really had tried to play nice with Hope but the girl didn't want a truce at all. She would rather keep playing the part of poor-put-upon victim to anyone who would listen and Steffy hated it. She also hated everyone who was buying into Hope's act.

Before long, Wyatt had stepped into the fray and was pulling Hope away before Steffy could take a swing at her. "Don't, Hope," Wyatt said. "Don't let her get to you. I shouldn't 't have either."

Hope looked at Wyatt, face flushed. Wyatt still had his hand on her back and she was tucked against his side, trembling almost with unconcealed rage. Steffy was being held back by Eric who was gripping her arm. Steffy could have easily broken free and pummeled Hope to the ground but she remembered the promise she had made to Thomas not to cause any trouble. She didn't want to disappoint him when he was practically the only person in the world who loved her for her. She shouldn't have let Hope push her buttons in the first place.

Steffy wasn't going to make any more of a scene but one seemed inevitable as Liam was suddenly stomping into Eric's office. "What's up with all the yelling going on here? Wyatt, why do you have your hands all over my fiancée?" Liam was the one fuming now. That is until he spotted Steffy standing there. His anger and jealousy temporarily melted away as he saw his soon-to-be-ex-wife for the first time in months.

"Steffy," he said in a much softer tone of voice. "When did you get back?"

Steffy felt the heat of everyone's gazes on her as Liam pushed through the group and moved over to her. Before she could even react, he was embracing her tightly, right there in front of her grandfather and Hope and Wyatt.

_**A/N: Well, well, well. Wyatt and Steffy's first true interaction got off to a really bad start, didn't it? He will have some groveling to do when he realizes he is wrong about Steffy in so many ways. That should be fun. This fic will be all kinds of angsty though before it gets super romantic so keep holding on tight. And please, please leave some feedback! It's the only way to keep me motivated to write more. **_


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